New studies show that people who believe they have lived previous lives and people who claim they have been abducted by aliens are given to memory errors.

People who are likely to make these kinds of errors might end up convincing themselves of things that aren't true, said lead researcher Maarten Peters of Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

When people who are prone to making these mistakes undergo hypnosis and are repeatedly asked to talk about a potential idea — such as a past life — they might, as they grow more familiar with it, eventually convert the idea into a full-blown false memory.

This is because they can't distinguish between things that have really happened and things that have been suggested to them, Peters told LiveScience.

Harvard clinical psychologist Richard McNally speculates as to why some people are more likely to have faulty memories.

As for what might make people more prone to committing such errors to begin with, McNally says that it could be the byproduct of especially vivid imagery skills.

Sounds to me like psychologist jargon for “They have excessively active imaginations”.

h/t: Religion News Blog

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